My guess is that this is a case of an ambulance chasing lawyer working on a contingency fee....and now he's been reduced to grasping at straws in an attempt to salvage what investment he may have in the case. Fortunately, he found a judge that didn't know squat about offshore sailing and was willing to fall for the "employment" argument.

A close read of the above suggests he may have won a motion, but he's still a long way from winning the case.

I've offered crew airfares and meals on several occasions and my insurance company doesn't consider that "paid crew". When I made a contribution to a crew member's sailing charity to enable him to join me for a three month passage, the insurance company did consider that he was paid crew and I had to pay a $300 supplement to the base policy to cover potential liabilities arising from his presence on the boat.

This is a tragedy of the first order. The lessons have been learned and nothing is going to bring Laura home from the sea. IMHO, it's long past time to let it begin to fade from our memories.